No vote on stiffer penalties for littering in city

Aldermen talked Monday about the need to clean up the litter on Chicago streets but stopped short of voting on a proposal that would allow police to impound a vehicle and levy a $1,500 fine if an adult passenger in the car throws trash out the window.

The measure's sponsor, Ald. Howard Brookins, 21st, said the garbage on the streets in his South Side ward is deterring businesses from investing in an area that desperately needs jobs.

"People constantly and continually discard trash, and unfortunately it's primarily in my neighborhood, which discourages development within the community," Brookins said during testimony at a City Council Finance Committee meeting.

Brookins' plan would raise the fines for anyone throwing trash out the window of a stationary or moving vehicle to $1,500 from a current range of $50 to $200. In cases where the litterer is 16 or older, the car would be impounded. Recovering impounded vehicles requires the payment of hefty towing and recovery fees.

Jeff Baker, president of the community organization Committee for a Better Chicago, testified it's improper to give police the power to impound people's cars when there is already an anti-littering statute in Chicago that's rarely enforced.

"I think it takes enforcement, so perhaps we should turn our attention to enforcing what's on the books," Baker said.

Finance Committee Chairman Ald. Edward Burke, 14th, announced the proposal would be held in the committee pending reports from police and the city Law Department about how the new standards would be implemented.